Mia's 2nd Birthday Party

My baby girl is TWO today!!! I can barely remember her as a tiny baby anymore - instead I see a boisterous little girl who loves giving big hugs, running fast, reading books, eating any produce she can find, and generally creating chaos. She makes me laugh every day with her elephant impression and when she requests "blueberry tummy" and "strawberry tummy" after I blow raspberries on her tummy. I love that little girl to pieces!

After our giant birthday party for Mia last year (it was the last time we had people to our house!) I tamed it down a little, you know, mainly because of the pandemic. We celebrated over the weekend with just my parents and my sister's family, and a whole lot of balloons. I didn't go for a theme this time, and instead had the theme just be "pink birthday." 

For decor, I found this balloon kit on Amazon. I keep complaining about the effort we put into it, but really it probably took Jeff and I an hour and a half to put it together, and that includes manually blowing up all of the balloons because I didn't realize until too late that the package said you should definitely use a pump ;) And the impact is real! It looks so good in photos, and is still looking pretty good several days later because I told Jeff we had to leave it up until Mia's actual birthday. The kit included balloon tape (a long ribbon with holes) that you insert the balloons into, which made things really easy. It also had glue dots for filling in gaps, which worked amazingly well! 

I also bought the matching streamer kit off of Etsy. The balloon kit and streamer kit are made in the UK and I don't know what the deal is, but there were a ton of vendors on Etsy from the UK just straight up selling these kits they didn't make. Not sure how that's allowed, but if you see one with pictures that look like this, chances are it's the exact same thing. I bought two of the streamer kits and I definitely recommend that to get a full look if you're covering a space more than six feet wide. The streamer kits were way more frustrating for me to put up than the balloons even though they look simple (partially because Mia was refusing to nap while I was working on them and just screaming into the monitor). The problem is that the string they provide in the kit is stretchy, so it slowly drooped as I added more and more streamers to it. I definitely recommend using regular fishing wire instead! 

The only other decoration we had this year was the Happy Birthday sign - I made it on my Cricut! That thing has honestly saved me so much money just in banners that it's going to pay itself off soon ;) I used this paper for it.

The cake was by my friend Laura at Butter Cream Flour. Her cakes are actually the best I've ever tasted and they're so beautiful too! She ends up booked solid some months so definitely reach out a few weeks early if you're interested! 

And then I decided to put together a couple of little gift bags for my sister's kids and then for Mia to bring to her preschool pod buddies at school today. I made the little birthday cupcake cutouts on my Cricut (using this free SVG), and also wrote the names on the tags using the Cricut pen (note - the pen tool outlines fonts when it draws them, so I just colored in the insides of the letters by hand). 

And now get ready, because here are a few more  photos from the day: 

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Mia's Spring Wardrobe

Jumper / Tee

As soon as you have your kids figured out, something changes, am I right? Mia's growth had been slow and steady, and she was changing sizes every 6 months or so. She even somehow managed to always change clothing sizes with the seasons to make things easy for me, starting from when she was an infant! And then, since right before Christmas, she somehow went from wearing 18-24 month clothes, to 3T clothes. Someone send help. 

(Except, I have to say, for cardigans and vests. What is up with baby cardigans and vests? I can't get her into tee shirts I bought in December, but she still fits into a 6-12 month vest and her cardigans from last fall. Someone, pls let me know what's up with baby vest sizing.) 

Dress / Leggings

On the downside, bye money! But on the upside, I am never upset to shop for a whole new toddler wardrobe. I get most of Mia's clothes from H&M kids (I shop in both the toddler and girls sections right now), with stuff from Monica & Andy, Nordstrom, Crew Cuts, Old Navy, and Baby Gap thrown in too. While I went for earthier colors in the fall, for spring I decided to go all in on pink. She just looks so darn cute in it! 

Pink Ruffle Sleeve Dress / Leggings 2 Pack / Heart Dress / Ruffle Sweater Jumper / Green Ruffle Cardigan / Blue Ruffle Blouse / Polka Dot Sweater Skirt Set / Grey Sweater Dress / Pink Cowl Neck Fleece Dress / White Button Front Blouse / Cream Sweater Dress / Pink Pointelle Cardigan / Henley 2 Pack / Tulle Dress (Mia saw her cousin's tulle dress and followed her trying to touch it for 10 minutes straight so I decided she needed one too ;)

(I recognize there are only two pairs of pants in this collage. Mia has more than two pairs of pants. They just are mostly these or these basic leggings that aren't very exciting.)

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Motherhood Monday: Holiday Matching

Okay, so I always knew I was going to be that mom at some point and make Mia's outfits match mine. But I hadn't fully indulged until this holiday season. Go big or go home, am I right? Here are a few of our matching outfit moments so far (and watch out Mia, because I have an exact match coming up ;): 

Mia's jumper / Mia's tee / Mia's bow / My scarf / My dress

Similar shirt 1, shirt 2, shirt 3 / My earrings / Mia's shirt / Mia's bow

Mia's dress / Mia's bow / Similar poncho 1, poncho 2, poncho 3, poncho 4

Mia's dress / Mia's boots / Mia's bow / My belt / Similar poncho 1, poncho 2, poncho 3, poncho 4

Mia's shirt / Mia's jumper / Mia's bow / My scrunchie / My shirt

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Starting a New Holiday Tradition: December 1st Box

Have you heard of December 1st boxes? The basic premise is, instead of giving your kids Christmas stuff for Christmas, you give it to them at the beginning of the holiday season so they can use it up through Christmas. Think Christmas pajamas, movies, books, bedding, etc. I first heard about the tradition on Merrick's Art, and I was like, "duh!" Why would you give your kids Christmas pajamas on Christmas, so they can wear them once and then grow out of them?! As someone who currently has a toddler growing out of all the fall clothes I just bought her, I'm very on board. It's also more exciting and fun than just giving your kids their pajamas ahead of time, or giving a book ahead of time. 

December 1st boxes are also special because they aren't just a present - you can turn the boxes into a whole day of traditions. Maybe every year you include a new Christmas movie, and then you pop some popcorn and watch the movie as a family. Or maybe you include a pack of Christmas sprinkles in the box, and then you all bake cookies together after. Or you could include hot chocolate mix in the box, and set up the tree and decorate the house while you drink hot cocoa. It's a world of possibilities to bring a little more cheer to the holidays! 

The only thing I'm personally thinking of changing up is the name. A December 1st box implies that you have to open it on December 1st, and I just know that if December 1st falls on a busy Tuesday there is no way we're going to remember our tradition. So I'm currently trying to think of a little rebrand before Mia is old enough to remember what we call the box. Holiday Cheer Box? Christmas Kickoff Box? (Lol I work with sales people, and that is a little too close to a SKO or Sales Kick Off for me ;) Let me know if you have any good ideas! 

Here's what's going in our December 1st box this year for our toddler: 

Polar Express Book / Buffalo Plaid Pajamas / Tartan Top / Tartan Skirt / M Tree Ornament / Christmas Coloring Book / Christmas Puffy Sticker Set

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Motherhood Monday: On Halloween in 2020

Happy Monday!! We're *almost* in October, so naturally, I have Halloween on the brain! And I'm wondering - what are you planning to do for Halloween this year? 

(was she ever really this little?!?!?!)

Last year I went the laziest route possible. Mia was a cool seven months old, so I just put her in a little skeleton outfit and called it a day (which LOL I found on clearance at the end of the season for $2 and bought a size for this year! #momhack). We were just getting her dressed up for daycare so I didn't quite see the point, especially since she'd mostly be rolling around on the carpet and ripping off any hats or accessories I tried to put on her. 

But now that I have a cute little 18 month old running around, I want to put that girl in a costume! The only thing is, where to wear it? 

My plan is, for pandemic safety, to just take her "trick or treating" (read: costume showing off) to a few of our family member's houses, and social distance while we're there. I'm thinking we'll also end up dressing up for a day at preschool, but that remains to be seen. 

I originally got really stuck on the idea of dressing up Mia as Madeline after seeing this cute picture from Danielle Moss. But honestly pandemic me has no time to make Mia a complicated costume, and everything I wanted to buy was hovering in the $100 range. Seemed silly to drop a hundy on a costume we won't *really* get to use. Also, I knew my work was going to have everyone dress up on camera for a virtual Halloween and there's no way I was going to be one of Madeline's nuns 😆

So instead I pivoted. I bought Mia some green tights and a green dress, and we're having her go as Peter Pan! Add a couple faux fur items and some face paint, and Jeff and I will be a couple of Lost Boys. Easy peasy lemon squeazy. Costumes made mostly from items we have at home that won't be too hard to pull together. Perfect for a Pandemic Halloween. 

What are you up to for Halloween this year? Are you still going all-out, or have you reigned things in? 

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Motherhood Monday: Our Favorites at 18 Months

Looks like I haven't shared Mia's favorite things in months and months! (In case you missed it, our favorites for newborns, at six months, and at nine months. The smock bibs are my #1 overall pick though!) I, like every parent, bought approximately 1 million unnecessary items at the beginning of the pandemic hoping to keep Mia occupied, and of course her favorite activity is still taking all of our DVDs out of the cabinet. But, we do have a few new favorites I wanted to share. 

Climbing Triangle - I saw these on Instagram last year and thought, well that looks fun but not like something we have space for. But as I'm preparing for #pandemicwinter, I thought having something Mia could climb on indoors would be really nice to have for burning off energy and getting out her need to climb. I love this thing so far. We got the triangle with the slide/rockwall combo, which I like now but assume I will love once Mia figures out how to get onto the slide by herself. The only note I'd give is to just get the natural finish, and the white finish has already started to chip a little on the slide from flipping it over. 

Angelina Ballerina - Mia is obsessed with this book, we read it at least 10x a day. The story is about a little mouse who wants to be a ballerina. The book is so well done, the little illustrations are really cute and detailed. I remember reading the rest of the series that was written in the '80s and it turns out they're out of print! So I ended up finding a set on eBay to keep the love going (I found another set available here). I plan to give them to Mia one at a time as gifts over the next couple of years. 

Soccer Ball and Net - When we first started thinking about outdoor toys for our roof deck, every idea I had seemed like a bad idea on a fourth floor deck. I just had images of baseballs and basketballs flying off the roof and hitting passers by. A slide Mia could climb on also seemed like an exceedingly bad idea if it meant she could then climb up onto the waist-high wall. So a soccer ball and net it was! She figured out almost right away how to kick the ball, and even if she isn't kicking loves putting the ball in the net and cheering. 

Lovevery Toddler Kits - We received the baby kits as a gift when Mia was born, and I loved them. They are boxes filled with "Montessori" style toys, meaning they are mostly wood or natural materials, don't make noises or have flashing lights, and encourage babies to play in multiple ways to build creativity. There were always a few "filler" items in the boxes I didn't feel were necessary, but then all of Mia's absolute favorite toys came from the boxes too. The toddler kits, however, are a whole different ball game. Every item that comes out of them has been high quality and fun! If there's any problem, it's that we have too many toys now! 

Water Wow Books - I want to get Mia into coloring, but she is so dang messy with everything that I don't always want to go through the effort of pulling everything out and cleaning it up just for five minutes of fun. These books are great for mess-free painting at home or on the go. You just fill up the little "pen" with water, and they paint on the blank pages to reveal color. They dry blank again so you can use them over and over! 

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Motherhood Monday: Mia's Schedule at 18 Months

When this girl turn into a full-on toddler?!? I realized I haven't shared her schedule in a while, so I wanted to share before we start our preschool pod next week. (Yes, we are in a preschool pod. Words I never thought I'd hear myself say! Just with a couple of other toddlers we know and whose parents we trust. You can read about why we stopped going to daycare here.) 

7am: Wake up and start the day! I'm in charge in the mornings, which is very handy for outfit selections. We head upstairs, immediately chug a sippy cup of water, and usually start our day with a few books.

8am: Breakfast! Mia really does eat as much as you may have seen in my Instagram stories, usually two kinds of fruit, eggs, toast with cheese, maybe some more fruit if she cleans her plate, and Cheerios. 

8:30am: We usually head out for a long walk or to the park to burn off some energy as long as the weather is nice. Then we'll come home and generally destroy the living room until its time for lunch. No morning snacks here since breakfast and lunch are 3 hours apart. 

11am: Lunch time! Jeff is usually in charge of lunch, but we aim for one fruit, one vegetable, and a peanut butter sandwich or leftovers from the night before. 

11:30am: Additional living room destruction and wind down to nap time. 

12:30-ish pm: Nap time! We are currently trying to push her nap back a little to get ready for the pod. Some days Mia naps for 2+ hours, but usually she wakes up screaming at the 45 minute mark and won't fall back asleep. 

1:15pm: We watch an episode of Sesame Street or read books to try to calm down from the screaming end of naptime. 

2pm: Snack! Mia usually eats some crackers, cheese, and maybe a little more fruit. Snacks are usually pretty small, she just isn't very interested. 

3pm: More outdoor time - we head up to our roof deck or go for another walk. 

5pm: Dinner! We try to mix things up but Mia usually ends up with a vegetable, sweet potatoes or another side, and pasta with meat and cheese in it. She often gets our leftovers here too. 

5:30pm: We usually FaceTime with a grandparent, run around the living room screaming, and climb on furniture when we hit the toddler witching hour. If it's been a long day, we might do a little more screen time. 

6:15pm: If it's a bath night we head on in to bubble up. Mia has really sensitive skin so we try to only do baths 2x a week. 

6:45pm: We head downstairs to brush teeth, get in pajamas, read two books, and go to sleep! 

So basically it's two five-hour awake windows, with a meal or snack every three hours. We try not to let Mia snack in-between meals so she'll be hungry for those vegetables. 

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Motherhood Monday: Mia's Fall Wardrobe

Last year, as a new, naive mommy, I waited until September to try to buy Mia clothes for the fall, and it turns out I was too late. Back to school shopping is apparently a thing (who knew?!) even for babies because they've all grown out of their warm clothes, and the experienced mommies swoop up all of the good styles early. It was kind of like when I decided Mia needed Christmas dresses but it was already December. Apparently it was a fool-me-twice situation. 

Anyway, I was not making the same late shopping error a third time, so this time I planned ahead. First I took a look through what Mia had still from this spring. She still had a few pairs 0f pants and hand-me-down sneakers, but all of her shirts and dresses wouldn't work. I went online to my favorite retailers for kids clothes (Old Navy, Gap, J.Crew Factory, J.Crew, and H&M) and pinned all of my favorites. (P.S. Are you following me on Pinterest?) Then I took a look at what I'd pinned and narrowed down anything that we didn't really need, made sure I wasn't buying too many of a category, etc. Then I waited for sales (H&M doesn't really have sales, FYI, and Old Navy has so many restrictions you can ignore their sales) and pounced! 

I'm pretty psyched about Mia's color palette for fall. We tried everything on last week and Mia seems into it too. And yes I bought her a bonnet, because there's a very short window of time when your child will consent to wearing a bonnet, and don't those little blonde curls look cute sticking out the bottom?! She's clearly thrilled about it.

Here's what we ended up getting (and BTW I apologize but somehow a couple of things, including the leopard dress and chambray headband, have already sold out. I told you the mommies are for real): 

Here are a few things from J.Crew Factory that I couldn't link above: navy quilted coat, leopard sweater, navy skirt, yellow skirt, pink ruffled cardigan, corduroy leggings, striped tee. 

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Why We Pulled Mia Out of Daycare

This whole pandemic thing - it's kind of crazy, huh?! If you have kids, what are you doing with them? Is it back to school or daycare or camp as usual, or are you keeping them home?

Just wanted to start out by saying that this is a judgement-free zone. No judgements here in what you've decided in terms of your own childcare or school choices, I just wanted to share our story.

Omgggg this photo is from March and how freaking cute is that squish?!?!! 

I had in my brain that Mia was going to be a daycare kid until she went to kindergarten. And then two weeks ago, we decided to officially pull her out of school.

Our daycare closed on March 13th, and initially I was shocked. At the time there were less than a hundred cases of COVID-19 being reported every day, and the general consensus was that COVID wasn't affecting kids. Some of my coworkers in California had their daycares close the week before, and I really didn't think it would happen to us.

Having Mia at home at first was hard. If you have kids, you know. If you don't have kids, you've seen the memes. I had wanted to figure out how to spend more time with Mia, but trying to work full time while taking care of her wasn't quite what I had in mind.

It turns out though, we're lucky. Jeff and I both have bosses who are very understanding, and my company in particular has been very accommodating. March was impossible, April was hard, but now we've fallen into a rhythm of splitting our days and taking turns working and parenting.

My job has been amazing about scheduling "fun" meetings, this is the actress who played Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton doing a singalong! And yes this is what our kitchen usually looks like 🙈

Our daycare reopened in mid-June, and initially we said Mia would definitely be going back, but not for a couple of weeks. We were expecting cases to keep falling in Illinois, but instead since mid-June they've rebounded. The date was getting closer to when we thought we'd send Mia back, and suddenly cases in Illinois were worse than they had been since May.

Our daycare has 32 children plus 15+ staff members, which means sending her back to daycare, no matter how careful the staff are at cleaning and wearing masks, we have to trust that 32 other families are all social distancing and being as careful as we'd like them to be. We know some of the parents, but even in Mia's classroom of eight kids we haven't met all of them. It's a level of trust that I just didn't have, especially with case numbers continuing to increase.

Jeff and I sat down and talked everything through, and since we couldn't figure out when we'd be comfortable sending Mia back to daycare, it would be better just to pull her out rather than basically paying college tuition to hold her space indefinitely.

So what's our plan?

Basically, we're winging it 😂. Jeff's mom and brother are taking Mia when they can, and we're trying to arrange a weekly playdate or "preschool" situation between Mia and her Aunt Izzy (in case you're new around here, Aunt Izzy is Jeff's (almost) two year old half sister). And besides that, we're going to keep on keeping on with our crazy split schedule of work and parenting. I also put Mia on the list for the feeder daycare that ours goes into when the kids turn two with the hopes that she'll be able to go back to daycare in March.

So there's our little story! I hope you're hanging in there with this whole quarantine thing. I tend to waver between weirdly loving the situation and the extra time with Mia, and being totally overwhelmed and anxious about the future. If you're struggling, just know that even if I share rainbows and sunshine over here, we're all having a hard time.

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